08-16-2016, 09:38 PM
My favorite lenses that I actually own:
Canon FDn 50/1.4: Been using since I've started. Not the best lens, not the sharpest, not the smoothest bokeh. But it gets the job done and it is reliable and enjoyable. Used it on film, used it on digital. Simply gets the job done.
Minolta AF 200/2.8 APO G HS: It's like that friend who you see only once or twice every year but every second you spend together is golden. I sometimes think of selling it. Then I go out and take a few photos and it goes back to the shelf until the next time I feel like it. This is probably the lens still keeping me in Minolta A-Mount.
Carl Zeiss Planar 80/2.8 C T*: The one on almost every old Hasselblad. So good with no particular weakness, it might even cure your GAS.
Honorable mention:
Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35/2.4: Recommended by some guy in a small store in Budapest. Asked him if it was sharp, he said "Oh yeah, trust me. It's brutally sharp". Very impressive all arounder. Bokeh is a bit on the ugly side but has that great Zeiss Pop. Why only honorable mention, then? Because I don't really like 35mm lenses.
Favorite lenses that I don't own, but use quite often:
My girlfriend's silver Helios 44-2 58/2: 13 blades of awesome. It's the one with the swirling bokeh. It has a very beautiful rendering, especially on film. Don't think of it as a special effects lens neither, it gets really sharp when stopped down.
My boss's Canon EF 11-24: A must have for interior architecture. I really enjoy working with that lens, gives you images no other lens can provide.
My boss's Canon EF 85/1.2: Pretty much every single time I loan this lens, I add a few pretty shots to my portfolio folder.
Fujifilm's 16/1.4, 14/2.8, 56/1.2, 10-24/4, 55-200/3.5-4.5, and quite recently, 90/2 and 100-400: I used them quite a few times at Fujifilm Street Photogrpahy Workshops that I've attended. I'll probably switch to Fuji eventually because of all those beauties. All I really want is a X-E3 and a 33/1.0 or a slightly better 35/1.4.
Honorable mention:
Fujifilm's 27/2.8: It's a gem. Why isn't it in the list above? Because my compositional skills are not that good that I can consistently turn up with good images with this lens. It is so sharp, every mistake you do will show up. You can't cheat into using shallow DOF neither because there isn't one. Get better or get out.
Canon FDn 50/1.4: Been using since I've started. Not the best lens, not the sharpest, not the smoothest bokeh. But it gets the job done and it is reliable and enjoyable. Used it on film, used it on digital. Simply gets the job done.
Minolta AF 200/2.8 APO G HS: It's like that friend who you see only once or twice every year but every second you spend together is golden. I sometimes think of selling it. Then I go out and take a few photos and it goes back to the shelf until the next time I feel like it. This is probably the lens still keeping me in Minolta A-Mount.
Carl Zeiss Planar 80/2.8 C T*: The one on almost every old Hasselblad. So good with no particular weakness, it might even cure your GAS.
Honorable mention:
Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35/2.4: Recommended by some guy in a small store in Budapest. Asked him if it was sharp, he said "Oh yeah, trust me. It's brutally sharp". Very impressive all arounder. Bokeh is a bit on the ugly side but has that great Zeiss Pop. Why only honorable mention, then? Because I don't really like 35mm lenses.
Favorite lenses that I don't own, but use quite often:
My girlfriend's silver Helios 44-2 58/2: 13 blades of awesome. It's the one with the swirling bokeh. It has a very beautiful rendering, especially on film. Don't think of it as a special effects lens neither, it gets really sharp when stopped down.
My boss's Canon EF 11-24: A must have for interior architecture. I really enjoy working with that lens, gives you images no other lens can provide.
My boss's Canon EF 85/1.2: Pretty much every single time I loan this lens, I add a few pretty shots to my portfolio folder.
Fujifilm's 16/1.4, 14/2.8, 56/1.2, 10-24/4, 55-200/3.5-4.5, and quite recently, 90/2 and 100-400: I used them quite a few times at Fujifilm Street Photogrpahy Workshops that I've attended. I'll probably switch to Fuji eventually because of all those beauties. All I really want is a X-E3 and a 33/1.0 or a slightly better 35/1.4.
Honorable mention:
Fujifilm's 27/2.8: It's a gem. Why isn't it in the list above? Because my compositional skills are not that good that I can consistently turn up with good images with this lens. It is so sharp, every mistake you do will show up. You can't cheat into using shallow DOF neither because there isn't one. Get better or get out.